Ken Nahigian | All Articles

Ken Nahigian

Ken Nahigian is the general counsel and director of public policy for Nahigian Strategies, a communications strategy and public policy firm, and served previously as counsel to Senate Commerce Committee Chairmen John McCain and Ted Stevens.

Ground zero for this year’s congressional midterm elections without a doubt is the U.S. Senate, as most experts believe the Republican majority in the House of Representatives likely will be held, if not expanded. The media has doubled down on their coverage, and donors their dollars, on the 36 Senate races, 21 of which currently are held by Democratic incumbents. At stake, control of the Senate for the first time in a decade, and with it, the power to drive the legislative agenda, as well as keepership of the momentum going into the 2016 presidential and congressional races.

In the latest chapter of the Obama administration's assault on the rule of law, the attorney general is again using the Voting Rights Act as a tool to excite the Democratic Party's base. Justified by his claim of racism, Eric Holder has brought yet another lawsuit against one of the sovereign states, this time Texas, and the state’s recently adopted requirement that those who wish to vote in Texas must – wait for it -- prove they are who they say they are. The administration yearns for Chicago-style elections in which showing ID is a threshold too burdensome for those among us who do not wish to be identified when they cast their ballots.

House Speaker John Boehner has perhaps the most difficult job in American politics. Despite having relatively little control over whether a piece of legislation passes --- considering the power of senators, the president, and his fellow House members --- he often takes much of the blame when bills are defeated. Liberals blame him for being too stubborn to yield to what they view as their electoral mandate. Conservatives blame him for being too willing to compromise.

The so-called “middle class.” We have been told that we need to foster it, cater to it, protect it, grow it and help more people get into it. We’ve been led to believe that it is where innovation occurs and jobs are created --- a utopia of fairness. And of course, growing the economy "from the middle out" is the only way we can meet the challenges we face.